Children's Home run by Leeds City Council in Leeds

Inspection report for children’s home: SC033723 1 SC033723 Registered provider: Leeds City Council

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is operated by a local authority. It provides care for up to 5 children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, 3 children were living in the home. All children were spoken with.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in January 2024.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Date of last inspection: 3 February 2026

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC033723 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

03/02/2026 Full Good 27/11/2024 Full Good 28/02/2024 Full Good 08/03/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC033723 3

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Summary of findings

Children are making good progress and are helped to keep safe in a settled home. The manager was on leave during this inspection, which was led by the deputy manager effectively. Children are supported to move into the home through careful planning, with their individual needs considered throughout. The home has a warm, homely feel. Staff know the children well and respond to their individual needs, providing consistent care, nurture and reassurance.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s drawings and certificates of achievements are displayed on the fridge, and this contributes to a homely feel. Children can be heard laughing and joking with staff, demonstrating positive and trusting relationships. There are a range of toys, teddies and other personal items around the home, reflecting the children who live here.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child has lived at the home for several years. They have made sustained progress. Staff have supported the child to develop their skills and achieve positive outcomes. The child’s increasing self-confidence is evident as they continue to work towards the goals identified in their independence plan. These are important skills as the child prepares for adulthood and moving on from the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to make positive progress in their education from their starting points. One child has successfully achieved their English and maths qualifications and secured a place at college. Another child’s education attendance has increased since moving into the home. Children are supported to access a range of opportunities alongside their education. This includes attending a school residential trip and participating in a school performance to enrich their learning. Where children find formal education more challenging, staff implement clear plans are to support improved attendance and engagement and are proactive in preparation for the new academic year.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of children maintaining and developing positive relationships with their family and other people who are important to them. Staff provide appropriate support to promote and sustain these enduring relationships. Feedback from family members is positive. One family member said, 'They [the staff] are really supportive of [name of child].’ This further reflects the positive relationships and support provided by the staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to improve their physical health and develop healthier lifestyles. Staff promote greater engagement with health appointments and support children to understand the importance of attending these. Children are helped to make healthier diet choices and increase their levels of exercise and physical activity. As a result, children develop healthier routines and benefit from improvements in their overall health and wellbeing. One social worker said, ‘[Name of child] is more active, they have Inspection report for children’s home: SC033723 4 improved self-esteem. They are doing brilliantly at the home, and they are much healthier than they were.’

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Children benefit from living in a settled home where they say they feel safe. Staff respond effectively to emerging concerns. They use appropriate de-escalation strategies to prevent situations from developing. Staff understand the children well and recognise the early signs of distress, enabling them to respond promptly and sensitively. The home environment feels settled and safe. As a result, the number of overall incidents has reduced, and children do not go missing from the home.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Children are supported to develop the knowledge and skills they need to keep themselves as safe as possible. Staff have a wide range of meaningful conversations with children about how to keep safe. This includes reinforcing the importance of wearing a helmet when riding bicycles, understanding stranger danger, road safety, online safety, and developing healthy relationships. Staff use everyday opportunities to reinforce children’s understanding of risk and safety in a way that is appropriate to their individual age, understanding and needs.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Children are supported to make positive choices through their individual incentive plans. These plans reflect their interests, wishes and feelings. One child participates in 30-day challenges, which has been developed in response to their views and provides encouragement to reach their goals. Another child collects tokens for positive choices and exchanges these for rewards. These approaches motivate children to make sensible choices and recognise their achievements.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Children are supported to develop positive relationships with one another. Bullying is not a concern in the home. Children’s meetings promote the importance of respect and kindness. This is seen through children spending time together and having shared experiences, such as joining in with one another’s birthday celebrations. This contributes to a positive and welcoming atmosphere.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and deputy work effectively together and complement one another. Management monitoring and oversight are effective. When areas for improvement are identified, managers take prompt action to ensure that positive outcomes for children are promoted.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers speak positively about the support they receive from senior leaders. Their views are listened to and respected. For example, managers are confident in challenging and declining new admissions when this is not in all the children’s best interests. Managers feel supported by senior leaders to exercise their professional judgement. This helps to ensure that admission decisions remain focused on the needs and best interests of children. Inspection report for children’s home: SC033723 5 Feedback from professionals was consistently positive about the managers and staff. One child’s independent reviewing officer said, ‘The staff are really kind, trauma-informed and welcoming.’ Positive relationships are developed between the staff and children’s professionals ensuring a positive and congruent working culture.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers place importance on staff having time together. Team meetings are held regularly and provide an open forum for discussion. Staff feel able to share both their concerns and successes. They feel valued and supported at work, with one member of staff describing the home as ‘thriving for both staff and children’.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff speak positively about their supervision sessions. However, there is limited evidence of reflection within the supervision records, and targets are often not sufficiently individualised. This limits the effectiveness of supervision sessions in supporting professional development and improving practice. Inspection report for children’s home: SC033723 6

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that they have systems in place so that all staff receive supervision sessions of their practice. In particular, supervision sessions should be reflective and include individualised targets for staff. (‘Guide to The Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 13.2)

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people, using the social care common inspection framework. This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service, how it meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation, and to consider how well it complies with The Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’. Inspection report for children’s home: SC033723 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Merrion House, Merrion Centre, Leeds LS2 8LX

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Inspector

Jo Birtwhistle, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC033723 8 regulates and inspects to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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